Mick Jagger only needs a television and an acoustic guitar to get the songwriting juices flowing — even if what's on the screen is rubbish. The Rolling Stones frontman says he recently found himself writing song ideas while watching TV at home, eventually having to switch off the distraction to keep the inspiration coming.
“I was sitting watching the TV last night in my flat,” Jagger tells Uncut (via Guitar.com). “I picked up my acoustic guitar and wrote four different things. I said, ‘Turn the TV off. This is rubbish!’ It was quite late and I was banging out these tunes. I put the TV back on after I’d done two.”
But the creative spark hadn't run its course. “Then I thought, ‘Hang on, I’ve got this idea…’ I turned off the TV and wrote two more.”
Jagger — whose songwriting partnership with Keith Richards ranks among the most successful in rock history — is careful to point out that the ideas aren't necessarily finished songs.
“I’m not saying they’re finished songs — they’re more like sketches. I thought, ‘Well, this is good going. You’ve got to do this every day.’ That’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve been writing quite a lot. But for what I don’t know.”
The Rolling Stones recently released their 27th studio album, Foreign Tongues, following 2023's Hackney Diamonds. But they haven't confirmed plans to tour behind the new record. Their last road run came in 2024, in support of Hackney Diamonds. And according to bandmate Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards may be the one holding things up.
“Mick and I have already been promoting a little bit,” Wood said. “But we're waiting for Keith to settle down what he wants to do for his future, because he's a bit road weary at the moment. He said, ‘I don't want to do any more touring for a bit.’ So I thought, Well, I’m not gonna sit back and wait. So I’m going to get out there and play.”
Wood has since done just that with his AMMO band. Jagger, meanwhile, is already looking ahead to 2027, with the possibility of more live performances on his mind — whether with the Rolling Stones or on his own.
“I’d really like to do some shows,” he admits. “So that’s in my head. But if not the Stones, then any show!”
